France's play-off with Ireland was poised at 1-1 on aggregate in the second leg in Paris when Henry controlled the ball with his hand before teeing up William Gallas for the decisive goal, sparking furious protests from the Irish players that were taken up by the Irish government.

Henry's international colleague Karim Benzema also spoke out in defence of his under-fire team-mate.

"I don't think he's a cheat. We mustn't forget everything that he's done for the France team," Benzema said on the TF1 football programme Telefoot.

Asked if he realised that Henry had handled the ball in the build-up to Gallas's goal, the Real Madrid striker said: "No, I didn't know.

"You know, you don't know (how you would react in that situation), it happens quickly," he added.

Henry and Benzema will be on opposing sides in the first 'El Clasico' of the Spanish season on Sunday evening, when Benzema travels to face Barcelona with Real Madrid.